CREATING COMPELLING AND EFFECTIVE TEACHING ACTIVITIES FOR TEACH THE EARTH

JANUARY 28, 2021

KYLE FREDRICK, CALU

OUTLINE

• Introduction to TTE

• Review Process and Rubric

• Activity Development

POLL QUESTION 1

• Which of the following have you done from the Teach the Earth or SERC website?

a) Used a teaching activity or two

b) Used several teaching activities

c) Shared one of my own teaching activities

d) Shared several of my own teaching activities

e) None of the above

TEACH THE EARTH

• Resources for Teachers from administrative guidance to pedagogical philosophy

• Heavily weighted to content and undergraduate education

• Searchable database• Activity Type

• Subject

• Theme

• “Location”

https://serc.carleton.edu/teachearth/index.html

POLL QUESTION 2

• What is your primary teaching discipline?

a) Geology

b) Environmental Science

c) Atmospheric Sciences

d) Geography/GIS

e) Other

REVIEW PROCESS

• Teaching activity collection including new submissions are scheduled for review once per year at the Earth Educators’ Rendezvous Review Camp (https://serc.carleton.edu/earth_rendezvous/2020/program/sunday/activity_rc.html)

• 20-25 reviewers, stipend-supported, competitive application process

• Reviewers receive “training” (https://serc.carleton.edu/.../activity_rc.html#webinar)

• Activities are assigned by the editor, 2 reviewers per activity• Editor completes score reconciliation and final review

• Evaluation Rubric (https://d32ogoqmya1dw8.cloudfront.net/files/NAGTWorkshops/cutting_edge_activity_review.v2.pdf)

• Scored on a 20-point scale

• 5 categories, 4 points each equally weighted

• Guiding questions and auto-scoring from radio buttons

RUBRIC

• Categories• Scientific Accuracy

• Alignment of Goals, Activity, Assessment

• Pedagogic Effectiveness

• Robustness

• Activity Description

• Guiding questions answers “definitely, somewhat, a little, no, not applicable”

• Overall category score selection• Exemplary (4 points), Very Good (3), Adequate (2), Problematic (1 point)

• Comment sections

• “Changes Needed to Qualify as Exemplary” summary comments

• Automatic final score calculation out of 20

POLL QUESTION 3

• Where would published, peer-reviewed teaching activities “count” toward your evaluation (promotion, tenure, etc.) at your institution?

a) Teaching

b) Scholarship, important

c) Scholarship, trivial

d) Service

e) It wouldn’t. I wouldn’t even bother including it in my dossier/package of materials.

CREATING EFFECTIVE ACTIVITIES

• Reviewer Priorities• Goals/Assessment alignment

• Begin with the end in mind when creating activities

• Align with COURSE goals

• Measurable goals : Assessments that actually measure

• Solutions, Answer keys, scoring rubrics

• Teaching Tips misconceptions, modifications for online, “be careful of…”

• Accessibility and Unconscious Bias

• Functionality Availability (software, freeware, platforms, etc.)

• Persistence• Websites

• Software/Updates

• Currency

• Bloom’s Taxonomy

• Consider content goals AND higher-level goals

• Include “soft skills” and serendipity

CREATING EFFECTIVE ACTIVITIES

• Reviewer Priorities• Goals/Assessment alignment

• Begin with the end in mind when creating activities

• Align with COURSE goals

• Measurable goals : Assessments that actually measure

• Solutions, Answer keys, scoring rubrics

• Teaching Tips misconceptions, modifications for online, “be careful of…”

• Accessibility and Unconscious Bias

• Functionality Availability (software, freeware, platforms, etc.)

• Persistence• Websites

• Software/Updates

• CurrencyCredit: Bent Chang / Shutterstock.com © 2019

CREATING EFFECTIVE ACTIVITIES

• Reviewer Priorities• Goals/Assessment alignment

• Begin with the end in mind when creating activities

• Align with COURSE goals

• Measurable goals : Assessments that actually measure

• Solutions, Answer keys, scoring rubrics

• Teaching Tips misconceptions, modifications for online, “be careful of…”

• Accessibility and Unconscious Bias

• Functionality Availability (software, freeware, platforms, etc.)

• Persistence• Websites

• Software/Updates

• Currency

• Project Implicit (https://implicit.harvard.edu/implicit/)

• Sight, Hearing challenges

• Physical limitations

• Universal Design

Credit: Bent Chang / Shutterstock.com © 2019

CREATING EFFECTIVE ACTIVITIES

• Reviewer Priorities• Goals/Assessment alignment

• Begin with the end in mind when creating activities

• Align with COURSE goals

• Measurable goals : Assessments that actually measure

• Solutions, Answer keys, scoring rubrics

• Teaching Tips misconceptions, modifications for online, “be careful of…”

• Accessibility and Unconscious Bias

• Functionality Availability (software, freeware, platforms, etc.); “Robustness” can be an all-or-nothing score

• Persistence• Websites

• Software/Updates

• Currency

LET’S TALK ABOUT YOUR NEEDS/WANTS…

• What do you most need from term to term in course development and refining your teaching and activities?

• What are your pet peeves about adopting/adapting others’ activities?

• What do you wish you did better in developing activities?

• How can we encourage or incentivize more sharing of good teaching?

• Would you like to be a reviewer?

THANK YOU FOR YOUR PARTICIPATION!